The present invention is related to dolls and more particularly to dolls with magnetically activated functions that are externally activated.
Dolls have always been the mainstay as a toy for young children. There have been numerous varieties of dolls from no interaction to fully interactive dolls. There exist dolls that speak, cry, sing and laugh in response to a child touching or squeezing various parts of the doll, as well as dolls that walk and crawl. Included with these features is the simulation of physiological functions such as the intake and elimination of liquids through the dolls body. While even these basic features are not new to the art, as there exists a plurality of dolls that can be fed liquid through a bottle and which also wet themselves as a result, however, the attractiveness of these dolls are diminished because the interest and involvement of the child is minimal. In order to increase the valve of such toys, some toys have made the elimination of the liquids delayed until the child completes a subsequent action.
One such doll is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,775,901 which includes a doll that has an internal reservoir to hold a liquid that is fed through an orifice in the mouth of the doll. The reservoir further includes a discharge valve whose opening is effected by the close proximity of a permanent magnet. The permanent magnet being placed in a training seat with a chamber to hold the discharged liquid. Upon placing the doll on the training seat, the permanent magnet in the training seat attracts a magnet attached to the discharge valve pulling the discharge valve open allowing the liquid in the reservoir to discharge through a second orifice in its lower extremity. When the doll is removed from the training seat the attraction between the magnets is broken and the discharge valve closes.
Another such doll is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,750 which also includes a reservoir for holding a liquid. The doll retains the liquid until some time after it is placed on a cot. The cot includes a magnetic field generating means that moves between an first and second position, which alternately opens and closes a valve in the doll. The opening of the valve in the doll permits the liquid in the reservoir to discharge, providing the doll with the means of wet itself in bed.
The continual need for improvements of the above prior art, provides for structural arrangements which may not have been very effective in their intended purposes. One such improvement over the prior art is sound effects and the ability to provide for more realistic sounds that would accompany the doll during the discharge of the liquid. Typically the prior art uses pre-recorded sound effects that accompany the doll and are programmed to play back at a specified time, only to indicate that the discharge of liquid has been completed and that the doll needs to be changed (see, U.S. Pat No. 5,941,750). The prior art seems to lack proper sound effects to indicate that the doll is currently discharging liquid. As such it is an object of the invention to also provide a toy toilet that is capable of emitting realistic sound effects that indicates that the doll is discharging liquid.
The present invention includes a doll having a head and a torso in combination with a toy toilet. The doll includes a reservoir contained within the torso that can be filled with liquid through a mouth defined by the head of the doll. The reservoir is in communication with a nozzle having an orifice which is sealable with a magnetic valve assembly. The magnetic valve assembly has (1) a hollow valve housing with a top portion secured to the bottom section of the reservoir, (2) a central opening in said top portion, and (3) at least one inside wall with a longitudinal groove. A magnetic piston is slidably received within the valve housing. The longitudinal groove, however, permits liquid within the reservoir to travel past the magnetic piston. A valve ball is secured to the magnetic piston, and a spring positioned within the valve housing biases the magnetic piston out of the bottom section of the reservoir such that the valve ball creates a fluid tight seal against the nozzle. Thereby sealing the orifice, such that liquid is prevented from exiting the nozzle.
The toy toilet includes a repelling magnet to exert a repelling magnetic field to the magnetic piston to force the magnetic piston upwardly against the spring such that the fluid tight seal between the valve ball and the nozzle is temporarily broken to permit liquid within the reservoir to travel through the second orifice and discharge from the doll. The toy toilet also includes a frame, a seat, a basin, an opening positioned under the seat and a piece of stretched material covering said opening that creates a sound when liquid falls onto said material. Whereby when the doll is placed on the seat the liquid in the reservoir discharges, falls onto the stretched material creating realistic sounds, and collected in the basin.
Numerous other advantages and features of the invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the embodiments thereof, from the claims, and from the accompanying drawings.